Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes
by cfxcin02
Summary: This is the story of Bella in the final months before her move to the Gold Coast. It is the story of Emma, Cleo and Rikki as they learn that Emma will leave and say goodbye to her.This story will cover the transition between seasons/series 2 and 3.
1. Prologue

This story is meant to transition from season/series 2 into 3. I hope to cover all the changes that occur within their worlds during this time. The Characters of Leda, Stephanie, Rachel, Melinda and Mat are my own characters whom are based off of real people that are friends of mine (all of whom think it is cool that I'm using them in this story). The character of Ian is also mine and based off of me. All names for these characters have changed from real life. I have almost five chapters complete and ready to type and a time table set for their publishing. I welcome feedback and encourage you to try and convince me to speed up my timetable. So please read and if you feel up to it; review it and tell me what you think.

**Warning**: My prologue and first chapter may be kinda boring, but I feel it is essential as it establishes a base for Bella as to her mind set throughout this story.

**Warning**: My prologue is the opening scene to S3E1 so it is basically a giant spoiler, and the other half of it is a recap of seasons/series 1 and 2. Now I do realize it may be hard to follow, it is just the style I wanted it in and I can not really explain why I wanted that it like that so sorry if it is confusing.

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own H2O: Just add water. Unless otherwise noted I do not own any of the characters.

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**H2O: Just Add Water**

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**Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes**

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Prologue

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It was a bright sunny summer day. The beach was crowded with people of all ages. School was out of session and before long would be starting back up for a new year soon adding to the reason to be out enjoying the beautiful day that they had. Amongst the crowd two girls walked side by side well up on the beach beyond the reach of the tide. As they walked they didn't take note of anyone in particular that they passed by. But one of the other girls at the beach took note of them as they approached.

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_I don't know what it was about them that drew my attention but I knew something about them just wasn't normal; they were different from ordinary girls and while I didn't know what it was then I just knew something was different about them. I was new to the area and felt out of place and here were these two girls that had stood out to me; I kept a watch on them and as my suspicions grew I began to piece the puzzle together._

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The two girls hadn't bothered to take note of her as they approached her. When some of the guys in the water sitting on their surf boards started to heckle her and harass her with cat calls the two girls looked to each other and grinned as they silently decided to teach the guys a lesson in how to treat a lady.

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They were not ordinary girls; their adventure had begun nearly two years ago. A local boy had crossed a new girl at school and she had made it her personal mission to mess with him in an attempt to teach him a lesson. She had stolen the spark plug from the engine of his small watercraft and upon discovering the missing part he decided to make the best of the situation, and lured a girl walking by into getting into the boat as he set it adrift. Rescued by the spark plug thief they took the craft for a ride. When the girl who had been the target of the prank turned hijacking spotted a friend of hers she and her now co-culprit invited her along and the three girls took the small craft out onto the open waters only to run out of gas while out in the middle of nowhere.

Forced to paddle to nearby Mako Island they found themselves exploring the island trying to get a cell signal. Fate took them into a small cavern with a pool of water that had an underwater entrance connected to the ocean. By time they had discovered the pool it was late at night and as they got into the water -having finally decided to swim out through the underwater entrance- the full moon passed overhead. The cavern that they were in was the cone of a dormant volcano and as the light form the full moon shown down in onto the water it began to bubble and sparks of light glittered in the air as bubbles rose up towards the sky.

The next morning they each discovered that their worlds as they knew them had changed. The next four months saw them embrace what had happened to it and the consequences that came with it. When faced with the fact that a scientist had learned about them and planned to expose, exploit and study them they were forced to give up the secret they had been keeping with the help of a lunar eclipse. Or so they thought.

The next day they learned that they had unknowingly tricked the scientist into believing that they had given up their secret and no longer possessed it and were once again ordinary girls. To their surprise they had only lost their special secret for 12 hours and that they still possessed their special secret after all.

The next four months left them living their lives just the same as they had before the trouble with the scientist. The full moon was a dangerous foe for them and just when they felt safe they found that their secret had a new twist to it and their worlds were once more turned upside down. With their world suddenly changing on them (with the new twists to their secret and their real world troubles) they dealt with events as best they could until a new girl in town started getting close to their secret. Troubles really started and took a disastrous turn for the worse when she discovered the secret of Mako Island's Moon Pool; she too now shared in the secret. Believing the secret was meant for her alone she sought to drive a wall between the girls their friend who had known their secret since almost the beginning (whom she also happened to be dating at the time). When a big play to drive them apart failed she found that it was between her and the girls that wall had been driven with her boyfriend the one trapped in the middle. Deceiving him with lies and trickery she drew him in but overplayed her hand and once exposed delivered him an ultimatum; them or her.

Choosing his friends he broke off his relationship with her driving her to seek out revenge. At the next full moon the girls were lured into a trap by their new foe and faced off with her; the losing side of the battle would no longer be part of the secret for good (not a temporary effect like with the scientist and the lunar eclipse). With the three friends emerging victorious they returned to their lives.

The months continued and at the end of academic term they said goodbye to one of their friends as she left with her parents to travel the world. But all was not lost for new changes were in store; new dangers and new friends.

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Keeping her hand held low at her waist one girl began clenching her hand into a fist, curling her fingers in as the water around the guys began to heat and bubble. Then with her hand kept low at her waist also the second girl twisted her wrist and the water beneath one of the boards jetted up enough to cause the board to roll dumping its rider. His buddies had a good laugh at his expense as did the two girls though not as loudly.

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"Don't you just love summer holidays?" The first girl commented to her companion. And then they continued on their way unaware that the girl they were about to pass had seen the scene unfold and knew something wasn't normal.

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_I saw the water bubble and the board suddenly overturn. I also had seen them standing still looking out at the water as it happened. They had tried to be subtle and hide their actions, but when you've got a secret and suspect that there may be others that have the same one, you tend to take notice of these things._

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The two girls continued on their way not taking note as they passed the on looking girl. After they were past she turned to look one more time at them. Puzzled by what she had just witnessed a multitude of thoughts went through her head.

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_I couldn't say with certainty, but I felt very strongly that they were hiding something; that they were hiding that they too were mermaids. I suspected there could be other magical places like the cave in Ireland but I had never found another place that had the same magic._ _Things would soon take an interesting turn, I was about to make a couple of friends that I could share my secret with._


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: OK here we go, I didn't have time earlier to finish editing the uploaded document to take it out of the big block of text that it uploaded as. (I can't tell you how much I hate doing that but I'm sure you'd rather I did). As I said earlier I have somewhat of a time table for posting chapters so you are encouraged to try and change my plan through your reviews otherwise I will post chapter 2 next Friday. I also noted to you that this chapter may be kind of boring but it sets up the characters and some of the area so I feel it is essential; if you disagree all I can say is sorry. For now my chapters will be focused on Bella but I will switch at some point to Emma, Cleo and Rikki**.

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**If you have questions I will try to answer them either privately or in the notes before my next chapter. ****So with that enjoy, and please feel free to review it. **

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**Part I**

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**Bella **

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**Chapter 1**

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**Four months earlier**

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Isabel Hartley (Bella) had been moving from place to place for as long as she could remember. If she managed to get a full year in somewhere she considered herself lucky. Her dad was in the hotel management industry and as a result was forced to move frequently (so frequently that she had never gone to the same school two years in a row). While she did miss having the opportunity to make close friends she was accepting of her life and tried her best not to let it get to her.

Perhaps it was a bit of karmic justice that she had to move so often and never got the chance to put down roots and make lasting relationships of any sort. She had a secret that already had enough down sides to it, but nothing in life comes free and such a great gift had to have a down side to it; that was the way of the world. The great cosmic scheme that had led her to that sea cave in Ireland when she was nine had to balance itself out somehow. The fact that she had to keep it a secret was hard and on top of that the full moon was a pain also, but shouldn't that have balanced it?

She could argue and debate it for hours on end, was it karma, was it bad luck, or was it something else? But when it came right down to it she had to ask herself if it mattered? It didn't matter why and she knew it and had accepted it for she felt like it was worth it anyway. She wasn't a complete loner, she did manage to make friends, she just never got to really know them or if she did she would move soon thereafter. All her relationships never got the chance to stand the test of time, but she made new friends each year and enjoyed them while she could. She did what she could to stay in touch but not being there in person made it hard to be close and they drifted apart, but the sting of that was eased by her making new friends; that and her secret. Whenever she was feeling down or troubled she could just go for a swim. She had the freedom to explore the waters, swim with dolphins; see sights that most people needed extensive training and expensive equipment to see. Even then they couldn't interact with the underwater world the way she could.

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_Every time I moved to a new town I told myself that maybe it would be different this time; maybe I wouldn't have to move again and I could actually make some lasting relationships. I was beginning to think that finally I would have a chance to turn the relationships I had made since my last move into lasting ones. I couldn't say what it was, but I had been feeling very optimistic like things were going to change; like something good was coming my way._

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As the bell rang she wasted no time in jumping up out of her seat to go meet up with her "friends". She was still getting to know them since she had transferred to their school late in the term. It had been about a month and a half earlier and she bonded with them pretty quickly; fitting in with them just as friends that have known each other their whole lives do. She couldn't explain why but she fit in with them very comfortably right from the start without any trouble. Each of her "friends" was different from each other but yet they all were very close. Despite having to keep her secret from them she felt a connection with them that she had not felt with any of the other friends she had made. There was almost no price she wouldn't have paid to stay with them.

The group she hung out with was four other girls and herself. They had agreed to meet out in front of the school after the last bell and being the closet to the main entrance Bella was the first to arrive at the meeting place and immediately began to watch for the other girls. The first one to arrive was Leda; a very stressed girl that knew how to unwind and have fun when the opportunity presented itself, otherwise she acted overly stressed and usually let it out in the form of random and often inappropriate outbursts; that and in the kitchen baking all sorts of dishes (desserts mostly, that and random and often inappropriate psychotic outbursts). Bella knew if she hung around Leda for too long she was going to need the help of the next girl that arrived; Stephanie. She was very athletic, running on almost a daily basis and on multiple sports teams ranging from soccer to basketball to track. The third girl to arrive was Melinda. She was a tough one to spot since there was just something about her that made her blend into crowds. She was a highly talented musician and after learning that Bella was a talented singer she had tried to recruit her to sing in her band, but Bella was to reluctant since she knew there was a good chance that she would be forced to move within a few months. As the school year had drawn closer to its end Bella had begun to consider it more but was not ready to say yes just yet. The last girl to arrive was Rachel. Rachel was a very interesting girl; she seemed to be the smartest member of the group and the most culturally diverse. That wasn't to say that the others weren't smart, they each had their own strengths and none ever had an overly hard of a time with school and they all had their own literary and musical tastes. But Rachel's uniqueness and intrigue came from the contrast of her other side. Opposite her smart down to earth side was comedy; Rachel had a love for comedy and was part of a club that Bella had never seen anything like in any of her other schools; a stand up/improve comedy group.

Bella couldn't get over how the four girls barely had anything in common but yet were close friends and had easily accepted her despite keeping a little distance between herself and them.

Bella always walked a tight line when it came to her "friends". She had made the mistake a few different times of letting herself get too close and attached to her friends only to have them yanked away from her when she moved. She didn't want to experience that hurt anymore so she limited how much she hung around with them so she wouldn't get too close and/or too attached to them for fear of the hurt she would feel when they were taken away from her.

Further tightening the line she had to walk was her secret; she couldn't let them know for fear of how they would react (mostly fear that they would expose her; and that wouldn't lead to anywhere good). To accommodate all this she mostly kept to herself but did try to make some time to be social.

Despite the highly complicated life she led she had been accepted by these girls; and they accepted that she was going to be very distant. They weren't going to push her too hard to get closer to her; they were just going to let it happen on its own; at its own time and pace. If she chose to act as a loner most of the time she must have her reasons and they would respect that.

With plenty of daylight left and the sun shining brightly without a single could in the sky they decided to head for the beach. That is where most of their fellow class mates would be (especially the boys). School was out and summer was going strong, nobody in the school would want to spend the rest of the day any other way. Bella knew it was dangerous for her with the massive crowd of surfers and swimmers, but she had been keeping her secret and protecting it since she was nine years old. She knew how to protect herself and the easiest thing for her to do was to stay well up on the beach a long way away from the water's edge. Nobody would think twice about somebody they saw spending their entire time at the beach well up away from the water's edge. That was the easiest place to move around, plus it was the easiest place to look out over everyone and everything from.

Most people would be there for the sun, sand and social (not the surf). There would be some people interested in the water, but most were indifferent to the water, if they had to go in after something or walk through it to get around others they would. Plenty more would spend their time a long way from the water for a variety of reasons such as wanting a less crowded place to lay down and tan. Knowing how to minimize the hazards Bella had readily agreed to join her companions at the beach and like the others went home to get changed.

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_As I approached the house I saw my Dad's car; he was home very early and that could only mean bad news._

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Her Dad would be brought in to help fix or improve a hotel and that required long hours and whenever he was home early it meant that he had had a rough day and needed to blow off steam, but to be home this early in the day meant that it was even worse than a bad day; it meant that the hotel he was working with had been unable to meet the goals he was supposed to make them meet, and the company was going to move him to another hotel.

Her Dad was good at what he did and for that reason he was given tough jobs; jobs that many times seemed impossible (or at least those were the words that he told her were used to describe his assignments). Despite his talents some jobs were doomed before he got to them and whenever one of his assignments was a bust he would call it a day extra early needing the extra time to unwind and take care of the necessary paperwork.

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With a heavy heart she went inside to find her Dad sitting on the couch. With drink in hand he was captivated by the TV and didn't notice that she had come in. Her Dad didn't watch a lot of TV and wasn't a heavy drinker, but on his worst of days he would go for the combination of both. The case for her having to move was growing stronger.

"Dad?" she called over to him but no response.

Taking matters into her own hands she went over to the TV and turned it off snapping her Dad out of his trance.

"Bella? What are you doing home so early?"

"Early, Dad, look at the time. School's been out for almost an hour now." Bella chuckled amusingly at how her Dad had lost all track of time.

He took a look at the clock on the wall and was shocked by the time; and all his through all his movements he avoided making eye contact with her.

"Wow, guess I really lost track of time?" Bella could tell he was trying to avoid bring up the move. She had been through this enough other times that she knew all his tells. He wasn't looking at her, he didn't mention what had made him loose track of time…

"We're moving again aren't we?" Bella forced the issue.

"Yes." He answered reluctantly. "I'm sorry darling; I know you were hoping we wouldn't have to move anymore and that you could finally put down some roots…"

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Despite already having figured it out it was still hard for her to hear. She turned and walked out on the conversation seeking comfort in her room.

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After half an hour she remembered her "friends" and got changed and left for the beach.

Sure enough it was crowded just as she had expected. She kept well up on the beach as she walked along not noticing anyone in particular as she was lost in her thoughts.

"Bella, over here." A voice cried out to her snapping her from her trance. She looked up to see the girls waving her over.

She had originally left her house for the beach with the plan of meeting up with them but on the walk over she had become lost in her thoughts again and the sudden shock and realization that her time with them wasn't going to be much longer was too much to bear while around them. Not knowing what else to do she turned and took off leaving her "friends" and the rest of the crowd behind as she headed for an empty stretch of beach that she knew about. Once there she stopped to look around just to make sure that nobody was around to see her as she took off into the water. Running as hard as she could she dived in and a moment later a familiar sensation came upon her. An instant later she was no longer a normal ordinary girl; she was a mermaid.

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That was her secret; since the age of nine she would turn into a mermaid whenever she touched water and didn't get dried off within in ten seconds. This is what set her apart from others; this is what she kept secret form everyone she knew; family and friend alike. This is what helped make all her moving worthwhile.

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The water was welcoming to her. As a mermaid she could stay under for over10 minutes at a time and swim at amazing speeds. Under the water she could be in a completely different world that could always make her feel better. She needed that; yet again she was going to have to move away from friends that she had made. She had been wrong; this time was going to be no different. The only thing she could do now was enjoy the time she had left and say goodbye. How she would do that is what she needed to sort out; that was what went through her head as she swam through the open waters.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: OK so here is chapter 2. I want to thank everyone that has reviewed so far. This chapter is another what I'm going to call a set-up chapter. Similar to Chapter 1 there is little going on in this one and once again I focus on Bella's inner turmoils. My current plan is to post chapter 3 next Friday (that will be a much larger chapter with some actual content to it), but that is mostly pending on me getting it typed up and edited by then (and that is dependent on my free time). Not a lot to say this time around so read, enjoy and if you feel like it review.**

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**Chapter 2**

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The sun shown in through the window waking Bella. She had spent most of the previous day swimming and coming to terms with the fact that yet again she would have to move. As she got out of bed she staggered to the bathroom shutting and locking the door behind her. She stood at the sink and turned the water on and stared at herself in the mirror for a second; she wondered why it was hitting her son hard that she would have to move again. She was so careful not to get to close to the girls; to not let herself get too attached to them. She had moved more times than she could count and while it did sting that she would have to leave the friends she had made it rarely hit her like this.

She splashed some water on her face and quickly dried it off. She was still a little groggy, but she was up now and there was no real point in going back to bed; it wouldn't do anything to help her situation anyway. Like she told herself so many other times it didn't matter why, all she could do now was deal and move on. She went back to her room and got dressed and started heading out.

On her way out she stopped as she saw her dad sitting on the couch with a ton of papers spread out in front of him on their coffee table. Normally he was gone before she got up but apparently he was going to be working from home all day as he did from time to time.

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"Dad, can we talk?"

"Sure."

"I want to apologize for yesterday, I shouldn't have walked away from you like that."

"That's okay; I know it's hard for you to move from one place to another like we do and that you were just venting you're frustration."

"So where are we moving to and when?"

"We'll be moving to the Gold Coast in Queensland. It's not going to be for a while yet though. I talked them into letting me stay here through the end of the year; we'll move a short time there after."

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The news was a little comforting to Bella as this had bought her four more months; normally she was lucky to get a month so this was something she wasn't going to take for granted.

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After a little more conversation with her Dad she headed out to find the girls; she needed to apologize to them and tell them that she was going to have to move away.

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Bella found the girls gathered at the beach. It was another beautiful day and with no school so it was almost a guarantee that everybody would be there again. It didn't take her long to search the beach before she found them. She had stopped a long way back where she could see them but they couldn't see her.

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_A mix of emotions were flooding through me at the time making it extra hard for me to approach them. Like so many other times I had told myself that maybe this time would be different and that I wouldn't have to move again and here I was with only a few months before I would have to move again. I was scared to approach them; they had welcomed me into their group and treated me as one of them right from the start and never seemed to care that I was hiding something from them. They had been so understanding and tolerant that I felt like I was abandoning and betraying them by leaving. I knew that for those very reasons I had to tell them; I owed them that much. Slowly I gathered my strength and started walking towards them. With each step I fought against the urge to turn away, run back home and stay in my room until I had to move._

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Bella approached from behind undetected until she spoke.

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"Hey." Bella's voice was heavy but it was unmistakable to the girls as they instantly turned and wrapped her in a warm embrace of comfort, relief and gratitude all the while bombarding her with questions asking if she was okay.

"I'm fine." She assured them as she wriggled free of their grasp. "It's just that yesterday when I got home I got some bad news that hit me pretty hard. My Dad told me we have to move again. I've got until the end of the year."

Rachel was the first to speak, "So why did you run way when you saw us yesterday? You're not moving away for another four months."

"It's hard for me to see you and hang around with you knowing that I'm going to lose you all in a few months; so I bailed. I didn't know what else to do."

"So where are you moving to?" Stephanie asked.

"The Gold Coast, Queensland."

"Well then I say we make the best of the time we have left together and enjoy each other while we can. How does that sound?" Leda suggested.

"Sounds good."

"In that case you need to be at my place tonight at 19:00 for rehearsal." Melinda chimed in only to receive a puzzled look from Bella in return. "There is no way I'm letting you go without singing with the band at least once. I'll have some music for you to look at when you show up tonight."

Bella started to voice an objection but Melinda promptly cut her off. "I will not take no for an answer. Before you leave us you will sing with us at least once."


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: First I want to say thanks to those that reviewed since my last posting. I'm glad people aren't finding the story too boring thus far. Now I had originally intended to wait one more day before posting this chapter but I'm not sure if I will have time tomorrow so I'm posting a day early. **

**This chapter is a longer one that covers almost a whole week and is a lot less set-up and starts things moving you meet a new character; Ian (this is the character based off of me) and see Bella begin to spend some time with the other girls. While she does start spending more time with them she is complicated and is full of contradictions and so please don't misinterpret some of her actions as lousy writing on my part.**

**Now since this chapter is a longer one I am currently planing on posting a new chapter in 2 weeks from tomorrow but that is dependent on a multitude of factors so for now read, enjoy and if you like review.**

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**Chapter 3**

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Two weeks quickly past and their holiday was over; back to school for the final term of the year. Bella was still coming to terms with the fact that her time with her "friends" had an expiration date. She was dealing with it and was better than she had been two weeks earlier. She was doing her best to embrace the concept of enjoying the time she had left with them. Melinda had forcefully dragged her to three of her band's rehearsals and Rachel was starting to pressure her into joining her comedy group. Stephanie had even taken her out running a few times. They were determined to make the best of the time they had left with Bella, but she was still reluctant.

She was still afraid that doing too much with them would cause her to get to close too them and too attached to them. It was easier for them, they could spend all this time with her and then say goodbye; they still had each other after all and didn't have to say goodbye to their friends every couple of months.

It was the first day of the final term of the year and Bella had decided to walk to school by herself even though they each had offered to swing by and walk with her to keep her always liked to leave extra early just in case the mood struck her just right and she decided to go for a swim and on this day the water almost seemed to call out and demand that she go for a swim.

While out swimming she had lost track of time and arrived at school just as the bell was ringing for students to get to class. She still had to get to her locker and knew she had no chance to get to class before the bell would ring again; the perfect start to the day and term.

As she rushed through the halls trying to limit her lateness she ran right into Leda knocking them both over.

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"Ow. Bella watch where you're going, you nearly killed me.".

"Sorry, forgot to set my alarm." Bella had never considered herself that good at lying but had rehearsed this line thousands times. All those that came to know her knew her as never remembering to set her alarm; even her own dad believed she was horrible about setting it.

"That is what you get for not letting us walk with you." Bella wasn't listening; she was too busy picking herself up and rushing off to her locker.

She was cursing herself for taking such a long swim, and was vowing for the umpteenth million time not to do that again. She managed to get to her locker without further incident just as she reached it the late bell rang. She took a quick look at her schedule that she had left in her locker and noted that her class was nearby and the teacher was one of the lenient few.

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_Maybe not _as_ bad of a start as I thought._

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Slamming the locker shut she took off for her class. She walked in just as the teacher was taking attendance.

"Isabel Hartley." The teacher called out a second after she set foot in the door.

"It's Bella." The teacher took note of her preferred name and paid her no further attention. She quickly scanned the room and found an empty seat. A lecture room with stadium seating made it a little easier to spot an open seat.

"Forget to set your alarm again?" A voice asked in a low whisper as she sat down.

Bella looked to her right to see who was talking to her. She recognized him quickly. His name was Ian; he was sort of friends with the girls and hung around with them once in a while. He was around enough that he had gotten to know Bella a little bit and had been one of the first people to try and befriend her after she moved to the school.

"How did you guess?"

"Well I saw you flying through the hallways and by the way have you thought about joining the football team?"

"What?"

"Well that was one heck of a tackle you put on Leda."

"Ha, ha." Bella faked the laugh and made sure he knew what she thought of his jokes.

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Ian was always taking shots at Bella and the other girls (Leda in particular), but never made them in bad taste or intent. A lot of his humor was a little more sophisticated and not as up front as most people. Another wild card in the shuffle of people Bella had been beginning to call friends.

Class ended and she made her way to her next class with plenty of time to spare. Her day was turning around. It was quickly turning into a halfway decent day all things considered. Her second class of the day didn't have anybody in it that she knew very well suiting her just fine. This class would be her excuse to avoid the girls whenever she felt herself getting to close.

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_The rest of the day went by fairly uneventful. Half my classes had at least one of the girls in it and the other half didn't have any of them. When the day ended I tried to slip out unnoticed. I was supposed to go to rehearsal with Melinda's band right after school but I wasn't feeling up to it. I wasn't sure how I liked my class schedule. I wasn't sure if I was still seeing them to much or if it was too little. With so much going through my head there was only one thing for me to do; swim._

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"Where do you think you're going?" Melinda had caught Bella trying to sneak out at the last second.

Bella just stood in place in a hopeless surrender.

"You're not trying to get out of rehearsal are you?"

_._

_Dam it._

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"Guilty."

"Why are you trying to skip out?"

"I just feel like being alone right now."

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…_and go for a swim; sort out all the shit in my head._

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"You feeling alright?"

"Yes and no, I just need to be alone right now. I promise I'll show up next time."

"Ok, but you really need to be at all the rehearsals you can. The band and you need to get used to each other if you're gonna be singing with us at all."

"I know, but today just isn't gonna work for me. I promise I'll be there next time."

Melinda could see she was pushing too hard and it was bothering Bella so she let it go despite her musical instincts telling her to force Bella to show up.

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Being let go my Melinda, Bella didn't waste time. She headed for her spot on the beach that she usually left from. Stashing her bag she checked to make sure it was clear and took off into the open waters. It hadn't been that bad of a day but something was just screaming out to her "go for a swim".

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It brought her a little comfort but it did not completely put her at ease. Her mind kept wandering back to the girls. They hadn't really pushed this hard to be close to her before but ever since she told them she was going to have to move they had been pushing to get to hang out with her more, for her to be more involved with them. They didn't understand how hard it was for her; moving from place to place, making friends only to lose them as soon as she knew them. They had grown up together in the same town. They didn't have to say goodbye to their friends every few months. She couldn't possibly expect them to understand what she was going through.

.

* * *

.

The next day Bella found herself late for school again. This time she had left early and taken a longer route just to change it up a bit. She had underestimated the travel time and found herself once again sprinting at full speed for her locker and once again she did not see one of the girls in front of her as she plowed right into Rachel.

"Bella, we have to find a way to get you to school on time, cause one of these days you'll going to run into one of us and kill us." A very sore Rachel commented as she struggled back to her feet, but once again Bella was already up and gone leaving Rachel to limp off to class.

.

Coming in to class late again Bella took the same seat she had the day before and once again was greeted with Ian's humor.

"So there is a pool going; right now smart money is that tomorrow you run over Leda again at 3:1 odds. Personally my money is on Melinda at 5:1."

Bella just glared at him and stayed silent.

"What? You think I should bet on Stephanie at 10:1?"

Bella still said nothing but instead reached over and smacked him in the back of the head.

"Come on, you have to find some humor in it."

Bella had heard enough for one day. She got up and moved to the back of the room where she would be left alone, she would have a harder time hearing the teacher and following the lesson but she would be alone.

.

.

When the day was done she met up with the girls to see what they were up to only to find that they all were busy with their own individual plans.

.

She was cast off to be with herself yet again, and at a time when she could have used some company.

.

With all these ups and downs she was experiencing and everything else thrown in there she felt like her head was spinning out of control. Somehow in the chaos that was her mind a thought popped into the mix that stood out. Somehow in the mix of everything she had going on she hadn't thought to research what was going to be her home in a matter of months; the Gold Coast.

The girls had asked a few times if she knew anything about it, but at the times she hadn't really had a chance to do any research on it. She knew a few things about it from listening too others talk about it, but that was it. Now with the rest of her day wide open she decided to learn what she could about her future home.

.

.

Bella's research turned up a few things of interest. A few popular attractions existed; a Marine park, a couple of cafes and a few other places of interest. What seemed peculiar though was when her research turned up several odd reports of shipwrecks, strange weather occurrences and other reports of that nature all seeming to be related to a place called Mako Island. She made a note that she would have to check this out at some point while she was living there (that was assuming she would be there long enough to explore the area a little). The one thing that brought some form of comfort to her was that it was right on the coast and that meant an entire ocean at her access. Presently she had a very large lake to swim in but it had been a number of years since she lived near an ocean. There was something about the ocean waters that she liked just a little bit better than any other bodies of water.

.

Lost in the thought of what the Gold Coast would be like she turned her computer off and spent the rest of the night watching TV.

.

.

Moring came and Bella was out of bed and moving with a slightly renewed vigor allowing her to get to school early for the first time that week. She walked into her first class as one of the first ones there. Taking her seat she took out a book to read while keeping an eye out for when Ian came in. She so wanted to see his reaction to her not only managing not to plow into one of her friends for the third day in a row and arrive on time (early in fact), but beat him to class.

Bella had had thought to herself many times that if she were lucky enough to finally be able to settle down that she might try and hook up with him and see if there was any chemistry between the two of them. She wasn't particularly attracted to him but there was something about him that made her say why not give it a chance. But there were a couple of factors holding her back, the biggest being that she hadn't known if she would have to move again. Now that she definitely knew she was moving again she wasn't about to get that close to somebody only to have them ripped away from her in a few months time. It was going to take something really big and really special for her to risk that big of a hurt.

.

Ian came in and Bella clearly noted the shock and surprise on his face when he saw her.

"Well, well, well; wonders never cease." Ian said as he sat down next to her. "It's a pity nobody picked the on time option. That was going at 100:1 There was a fortune to be had."

Bella set her book down and looked right at him. She was speechless; even when she was on time -early in fact- he still was able to make a wise crack at her expense.

_._

_Why is it I've considered asking out this jerk again?_

_.  
_

* * *

.

Early that evening Bella met up with Melinda for rehearsal. She had arrived early to the shock of Melinda and the rest of the band. She was still hesitant about singing with them but knew Melinda wasn't going to let it go any longer, but at the same time there was something inside of her pushing her into it.

.

That had been another victim of her life of moving from one place to another. She had considered many times joining up with or starting up a group that she could sing in, but had always abandoned that thought knowing she would only be forced to leave the group when she moved again. Now here she was with the opportunity she had been wanting and she was being brought in despite the fact that she would be leaving them in a few months time. She was a temporary guest singer in a group that was already plenty solid; her leaving wouldn't hurt the group when she left.

.

As the band warmed up and tuned there instruments Bella began to feel more comfortable and relaxed to the point of joking around with the rest of the band like she was one of them and had been with them from the start. The only thing missing from the mix was Melinda. She was the pianist and not all of the band's songs had her in them. This had been done intentionally to help to make her responsibilities as the band's manager easier. At the mercy of any potential venue's manager it wasn't uncommon for her to miss a part of rehearsal so she could try and book a show.

Rehearsal was well underway when she came into the room. In her hand she had several pieces of paper and she began looking through them and handing them out to each person. Bella looked down at it to note the sheet music to a song she didn't recognize. That was another non surprise; Melinda's band did all original material and on very special occasions would do a cover or two.

.

"Okay; I have good news and bad news. I did manage to get us a gig, but it is a one shot trial gig. Next week Saturday we play the Ratskellar." The band let out a collective groan. "I know it isn't exactly our first choice of venues but it's there or nothing."

.

_I didn't understand what was so bad about this place but I couldn't see any point in asking what the problem with it was. We were booked and that was that, regardless of whether or not we wanted to play there._

.

"Now the bad news. We are not guaranteed the gig. We have to submit a demo tape to them by the end of the week, and only them if they like us better than the others they get tapes from do we get the gig. Now they only want one song so I'm going to override the group vote and pick one of my newer songs. We've gone over it a few times before and I've been doing some work on it lately and it's finally ready. Now Bella I know you haven't seen this one yet, but I want you to take lead vocals. This song really realizes on every one to make it work perfect and your vocals are going to add the final touch that it needs."

_._

_Melinda had been named the band's manager shortly after they formed when she literally drew the short straw. With the position she had been granted a few extra powers and privileges to go along with the added responsibility. All decisions involving the band's music were supposed to be a group decision but on occasion Melinda would override that and make the call herself._

_The band trusted Melinda's judgment and rarely questioned her calls when she used her veto powers. Further adding to that trust was the fact that Melinda rarely did so and tried not to abuse it. __With all that in place there was no discussion about Melinda's choice of song for the demo tape._

.

Despite the bands approval Bella was thrown for a loop by Melinda's decision.

"What? Oh, I don't know about that…"

"Relax you'll be fine."The drummer reassured her, and one by one the rest of the band did the same.

Overwhelmed by the confidence the entire group had in her and their desire to have her sing she reluctantly agreed, "Fine, I'll do it."

"Excellent. Now we're going to need the rest of the night to practice and learn it and I figure we can meet again tomorrow to record it and I'll drop it off at the club after school on Friday."

Bella began to look it over; it didn't seem too hard and as she began to hear it take form in her mind it sounded fun.

.

The rest of the night was spent working on the song. Bella was amazed at the collaborative effort by the whole band to make changes to the song. They were beyond the point of acceptance of Bella and treated her like she had been with them from the start. It didn't stop there though; Bella fit in with tem just the same joining in with the hazing between all of them.

_._

_I couldn't remember the last time I had had so much fun in a single day. And what seemed like the oddest thing to me at the time was the fact that I had had so much fun and enjoyed the day so without going for a swim at all that day._

.

* * *

.

The week was half over; Bella found her head spinning slightly less than what it had been the last few weeks. She had arrived early to school again only to once again receive another smart-ass comment from Ian. Classes flew by and before she knew it the school day was done. When she arrived home she noted the time; she had just enough time to squeeze in a swim before she had to be at rehearsal. That was provided of course that she could get her homework done in time. It would be tight but if she didn't waste time she could make it.

That proved to be easier said than done. Two things kept drawing her attention away from her homework. First was Melinda's song. Bella kept taking breaks to go over it just as she had all day; learning it as best as she could. Second was Mako Island. She kept wondering about this place that was surrounded by so much mystery. She wasn't moving for another few months but this island seemed to call to her from the moment she had first read about it and now she couldn't resist the temptation to search the net for any information she could find on it. The only problem with that was that she kept coming up with dead-end after dead-end; more and more pieces were being added to the puzzle that was Mako Island but none were falling into place or becoming any clearer.

Of course these distractions were only compounding the core problem; her not wanting to do her homework to start with. Most of what she had to do was reading from the texts that were dull and boring. But she knew she had to do it, so with her homework progressing very slowly her window of opportunity for a swim before rehearsal was rapidly slamming shut. Before she knew it she was glancing at the time and she realized that her window of opportunity for a swim was closed. Making things worse she had a couple of hours worth of homework still left to do, and only 30 minutes before she had to leave for rehearsal.

_._

_This is going to be a long night._

.

.

By time Bella got to rehearsal she couldn't wait to record the song, she was definitely ready and excited. She had actually found herself looking forward to recording the song and to the show and that was still over a week away (provided they get it of course). She had decided that rehearsals alone were too much fun to pass up on and so she would join the band for an occasional gig. She had come to the conclusion that she wasn't going to be able to enjoy the time she had left with her friends unless she opened up to them a bit and let them get close to her and she them.

.

Bella walked in to find the band warming while Melinda set-up the equipment. The band was relaxed and comfortable but she was anxious. After what seemed like an eternity they were ready, Melinda ran the band through a final sound check and started the recorder. The bass player was the first to start playing, a simple rhythmic and catchy bass line. Quickly following was the drummer. Rhythm guitar then lead; the sound was building. Bella looked down at her music for a final reminder of when she came in. The sound climaxed; the band paused. Then the drummer counted off a quick tempo beat and the full band came to life. Bella hadn't noticed the night before but the sound and energy of the song was addictive and contagious; finally it was time for her to add her vocals.

.

In reality Bella was standing in a garage but once she started singing in her mind Bella was in a whole other place.

_._

_In my mind I was in a small cafe with a few people gather round; maybe 20 people at most. People I knew looked on and enjoyed the show. The room I was envisioning wasn't all that different from Rikki's._


	5. Interlude I

**A/N: I apologize for only having this to give you, I wanted to have another actual chapter ready to go but it is taking longer than expected and since I didn't want t make you wait three weeks for some new content I figured I could at least give you this little bit. Rest assured that I am working on the next chapter as quickly as I can; but finding time for it has not been easy. as my life has been _vey_ confusing and busy lately and as soon as I have the next chapter ready to go I will get it up for you. With a whole lot of luck I can have it done and posted by Monday so if you want the next chapter badly enough I recommenced you cross your fingers and add your luck to what little I get on my own.  
**

**_WARNING: SPOILER ALERT_. **

**The interlude sections of the story are scenes from the first episode of season 3. If you do not want the spoilers skip ahead to the next chapter. I also want to warn you that the interludes will all be written in the same style as the prologue so it may get confusing and be hard to follow (I certainly know how hard it was to write and even managed to confuse me when I read it back to myself as I went through editing it).  
**

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**Interlude I**

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The two friends lay on the beach enjoying the fresh outdoors and sun shine. They conversed with each other missing their third friend who was off traveling the world with her family. The conversation was interrupted by a beeping phone. The owner of the phone looked at it, a message from her boyfriend asking her to come meet him. Taking that as their cue to leave they got up and headed off to their respective destinations; completely unaware that they were being watched by the girl who had witnessed the earlier scene with the boys in the water, and witnessed it with an observant eye catching a detail that only those like her would notice.

.

.

"Hey, I'm home" she called to her boyfriend who lay on her couch reading a magazine and munching on some pizza.

"Hey." He called back in greeting. "You haven't moved since I left."

"No need to."

"Here's a crazy idea," she began cleaning up after him, "let's do something."

She moved the pizza from the couch to the coffee table so she could have a place to sit but that turned out not to be necessary.

"Ok, come here." He playfully grabbed by the waist and pulled her back to him as they crashed on the couch.

"Hands off my pizza, my fishing magazine and my daughter." Her Dad instructed as he came into the room to see them. He wasn't an overly protective parent, but he did have some boundaries when it came to his daughter even though she was 17.

.

Fearfully and respectfully he released her and stood to greet her Dad as her Dad complained about what seemed like his continual presence in the house. She came to his defense and he tried putting on some charm before trying to settle back on to the couch with the magazine. No such luck; her dad snatched the magazine away.

.

* * *

.

She walked along a semi-beaten path leading up to her destination. To her right a bay that led out to the ocean. To her left the roadway of a park. As she made her way along she stopped as she took note of a boy about her age trying to get his small boat engine started.

.

"Maybe you should give up." She playfully suggested.

_._

_I didn't know him but he was cute so I saw no harm in a little friendly and harmless flirting._

.

He looked up with her and smiled, "Maybe."

_._

_I didn't know who she was, but she was definitely attractive and making an attempt to be nice to me and maybe even flirt with me a bit. I could see no harm in doing the same in return._

.

"Where you off to?"

"That island over there." He nodded in the direction of an Island that was barley a spec in the distance.

"Mako? Isn't it a bit late in the day for that?"

"Twilight dives are the best." He continued trying to get the engine to start.

_._

_That's not good. Then again what are the chances of him finding the moon pool? There's no harm in letting him go out there. Besides if it gets into his system he's going to eventually get out there anyway so might as well let him get it out of his system now._

_._

_I didn't think he stood a chance at finding the moon pool. The entrance from above is such a small hole it is a pain to locate if you don't know about it. And the underwater entrance should have been too far for him to swim; heck, we were barely able to make the swim the first time and that was from the pool to the ocean. To find the underwater entrance and come in from the ocean is nearly impossible without scuba gear if you don't know it's there. It was also getting close to dark and that would limit his time to search the area._

.

"Try giving it less choke."

He followed her advice and it started right up.

"Thanks."

He smiled at her got in the boat and shoved off leaving her up on the bank watching nervously.

_._

_I hope I didn't just screw up._

.

As she stood there her boyfriend came up behind her and excitedly greeted her.

"You ready?" he asked.

"For what?" Her curiosity and excitement seemed to ease her nerves a bit and before long she had completely forgotten about the cute boy now on his way to Mako.

.

A few minutes later he was leading her from behind with his hands over her eyes to hide the surprise he had in store for her.

"And surprise." He removed his hands to reveal to her what had once been a popular cafe to the area now being renovated by a crew that appeared to be putting the final touches on it. "What do you think?"

"Umm…" she searched for something to say, "It's great; what is it?"

"It's my new cafe." He said proudly. "Starting tonight."

"Yours?" She echoed as she began to get excited. Her boyfriend was going to reopen the cafe. Part of her felt like a giddy 12year old school girl that just found out some cute boy she had a crush on liked her too.

"Well, it's Dad's money but I'm the manager." He explained as they started walking around.

"So that's what you been up to all holiday."

"Well I just thought somebody should do something with this place; it's been closed for ages." He said that to lay bait for her.

"That's what I said." She was getting slightly defensive.

"Really?... I don't remember that." He continued to mess with her.

.

Inside the whole room had changed, a new layout, new décor: it was a whole new cafe. Then the final piece. At one end of the room a small stage with sheets covering something. She pulled away the sheets to reveal instruments.

.

"I knew it, live music?" "Yeah, once a month or so, and tonight being our big night." He dropped another subtle clue to see if she would catch it.

"You stole my idea." She hadn't picked up on his hint; perhaps he had been too subtle.

"Uh, that would be really hard to prove in court." Now he was just screwing with her.

"I shouldn't have to. You're by boyfriend."

"So what's yours is mine right? Isn't that how it's supposed to work?" She looked at him and he could tell he was being threatened.

.

_Ok, time to drop this game; she's ready to roast me from the inside out._

.

"Ok, so I did kinda lie before, it's not my place. It's ours'…" He walked over to a table where another sheet lay covering something up. He pulled it away to reveal the sign and name of the cafe. She looked at it and saw her name. "…partner. What'd you say?"


	6. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter to you. I originally had chapter 4 already written and just needed to type it up but then I got and idea for the format of the story and now the original chapter 4 will be put on the back burner for a while while I work this next section. I also apologize again for my last update just being that interlude, but as I said I had told you that I was going to update on that date and wanted to give you something as I had promised. I do not want to make any promises as to when my next update will be, but I am doing my best.  
**

**Next I want to thank all those that have reviewed and added me/my story to their subscriptions since I posted chapter 3.**

**This chapter again is not the most eventful but it has some sections that I love so it shouldn't be too bad.**

**So with all that now said I give you chapter 4. Read enjoy and feel free to review.**

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**Part II **

**Emma **

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**Chapter 4 **

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**5 1/2 months earlier**

.

The alarm went off and a few seconds later a hand groggily and blindly reached up from the floor feeling around with the intent of and successfully turning the alarm off. Glancing at her watch she noted the time.

.

"Emma, why is your alarm set so early."The voice complained groggily.

"It's not." A second voice responded more alert than the first.

"I'm going to have to agree with Rikki on this one." A third voice called out from inside a sleeping bag.

"Ok, I'll admit I did set it a _little_ early but not that much; we'll need the extra time to get ready for school. There's three of us that will need to use the bathroom and this way we won't be rushed and tripping over each other as we try to get ready."

"Emma unlike you, Cleo and I don't need to spend an hour just brushing our teeth."

"I don't take anywhere near that long and you know it."

"Pretty close, and either way you take the longest."

"Fine you want to sleep longer so be it. Just remember that I tried getting you up in time to avoid being rushed."

.

Emma Gilbert got out of bed and carefully stepped around her friends as she grabbed her robe and leaving the two girls lying on the floor she made her way downstairs for breakfast. Walking into the kitchen she saw one of her text books sitting out on the counter, the reminder she had left herself to re-review the readings that had been assigned over the weekend one more time before school. Fixing herself a fruit smoothie and a bowl of cereal she pulled a chair up to the counter and began to re-read the test as she ate her breakfast.

.

Sometime later her two best friends Cleo Setori and Rikki Chadawic came down to join her for breakfast. Predictably Cleo poured herself a simple bowl of cereal and Rikki scrounged up a bunch of junk none of which could pass for anything even close to healthy. Emma choose to ignore it since after nearly a year and a half she had given up on that front and having known Cleo even longer knew that was another dead-end (although at least Cleo had some sense as to what a decent breakfast was). Rikki was also going down the same road in regards to Emma and the fact that she was going over the readings from the weekend for at least the third time since Friday night.

.

It was a quiet morning and the only semi-interruption was when Emma's younger brother Elliot came down for breakfast. Despite their differences in regards to the alarm and breakfast choices all three girls were glad that they had stayed safe from the full moon which had not that long ago finished setting. They certainly had their differences but that didn't matter one bit to them. In the end they were best friends and shared a secret and with the dangers of the full moon behind them for another month that was more than enough reason not to fight and bicker amongst themselves over these differences that morning.

.

.

As each finished their respective breakfasts they went back upstairs to get ready for school and the day ahead.

Once ready the three girls headed out with Elliot tagging along behind them. No sooner had they set foot outside the door they saw their good friend Lewis McCartney walking up the path leading to the door to greet them.

.

"Good morning." He walked up to Cleo and gave her a kiss.

.

_Cleo and Lewis had been friends for ages. By time I came to the Gold Coast and met them their friendship was very solid and well on its way into becoming something more. Sure enough their friendship blossomed into a relationship that we all thought was destined to last the rest of their lives. _

_They had had a rough patch eight months earlier and broken up but once they got back together things between the two were better than ever and nobody thought that anything could break them apart. _

_I always made fun of him and to some extent abused him, but he was a good friend to all of us and helped keep us safe._

.

"I take it everything went over alright with the full moon last night."

"Lewis!" they all quickly reprimanded him.

Taken aback and confused by their reaction he paused and then noticed Elliot tagging along behind them.

"Oh, sorry. So what's he doing tagging along with us?"

"My parents are out of town until later tonight, remember? That means it's up to me to make sure he gets to school all right and to do that he has to leave early with us."

"It also means that our poor Emma for once in her life will simply be on time for school instead of early." Rikki teased.

Emma ignored the comment and the group continued on their way.

.

.

After school Emma went home and started on her homework. An hour later Elliot arrived home and after a brief conversation between the two siblings he too got to work on his homework. They sat in a relative salience as they worked on their respective homework until their parents arrived home.

.

"Hello." Their mother called as she came in the door.

Emma and Elliot both got up to go greet their parents.

"How was the trip?" Emma asked.

"Just lovely. How's everything been here? Cleo and Rikki enjoy themselves last night?"

"Doubt it," Elliot chimed in, "they didn't make a mess of the house." He joked.

Their mother got a chuckle out of Elliot's joke, but Emma had a different reaction.

"Go do your home work." She playfully shoved him back towards the kitchen.

"So everything was fine I take it."

"Perfectly." Emma assured her mother.

"It wasn't too much trouble making sure Elliot got to school alright today was it?"

"Not a problem at all."

"Alright then, I'm sure you've got plenty of homework so I won't keep you any longer."

"Thanks mum."

Emma headed back into the kitchen and returned to her homework getting as much of it done as she could before she had to leave for work.

.

.

She arrived at the Juicenet Cafe early like she normally did and as she made her way to the back room to get changed she noted that it was extremely busy; a welcome change from most of her recent shifts. As she headed into the back room she nearly collided with the supervisor; Ash; her boy friend.

"Glad you're here. We're getting slammed. Once you get changed can you come on shift and start clearing down the tables outside?"

"Sure."

.

She continued to the back to get changed and when she came back out she headed to the outdoor tables. There she found a mess of garbage and spilt drinks. She took one look at it and as she was about to turn and head back in she saw Cleo, Rikki and her boyfriend Zane Bennett approaching.

.

"Need some help?" Rikki asked as she came close enough to see the mess of spilt juices.

.

Without another word being said Emma, Cleo and Zane took up lookout positions and Rikki quickly took care of the spilt juices. With the task complete Cleo and Rikki helped to gather all the garbage and get it inside then found a table for themselves and Emma went off to take care of other customers.

* * *

The rush lasted for another hour than began to die off. Bit by bit the staff got everything cleaned up and before they knew it business was calm again and the cafe was clean. Ash looked around to see what still had to be done and if his staff could handle it without him. Everything looked good and there was nothing they couldn't handle.

.

"Things are pretty well caught up," He said walking over to Emma, "I'm going to go get my paperwork caught up. Let me know if things pick up again and you need my help."

"Will do."

They had a quick kiss and then he was off to the office.

.

By time he came back out most of the other staff had gone home. Emma was sitting down with Cleo, Rikki and Zane with a juice of her own. Business had apparently completely died. As he headed over to join them a few people came in and took a seat. Emma got up to go serve them while Ash pulled a chair up to the table for himself. He caught a questioning glance from Zane and returned it with a look of disappointment.

.

While they had tried to keep it from the others Rikki had looked up just in time to catch the exchange of looks."What was that all about?"

"What are you talking about?" Zane replied evenly.

"I saw you two exchanging glances like something's up; what's going on?"

"Nothing, it's just some stuff between Ash and myself."

"Zane; spill?" she instructed firmly and both he and Ash knew there would be no getting Rikki to let this go.

"This has to stay at this table." Ash began, "The Juicenet Cafe may be getting ready to go out of business."

"What makes you say that and why does it have to stay a secret?"

"Well it's purely speculation at this point but I've seen the numbers and overall sales are down."

"So?"

"So, if the cafe doesn't make enough money it's not going to be able to stay open. As it is Wilfred's talked about retiring and this would give him all the more reason to do so."

"So what; the cafe closes. We all like the place but we can go elsewhere."

"What about Emma? If the cafe closes she and I will lose our jobs."

"You can find new jobs. No big deal."

"Rikki!" Cleo protested, "Emma loves this job. Do you remember how down I was when I nearly lost my job at the marine park?"

"There's more to it than that though," Ash paused as the others gave him their full attention, "_We_ all know the dangers of this place and where the safe spots are. A new place means new dangers and having to learn them and the safe places all over again.

"Then there are the times that one of you three needs to use one of the safe spots. Do you think you can just go running into the back room at some other cafe? And what if it's Emma? Do you think any other employer is just going to let her disappear without warning and let her keep her job?"

He was clearly getting through to them.

"It doesn't stop there either; unless we were to both get equal level positions we would have to get separate jobs. Wilfred and the others hear have no problem with Emma and myself dating _and_ being her supervisor. Chances are we would have to get separate jobs and separate schedules. As it is if it weren't for the Juicenet we would hardly see each other."

.

_It was clear to me that none of the others had full realized what the Jucienet Cafe meant to the group. It was a scary thought what would happen if we lost the cafe. It wouldn't take much for one of the girls to be exposed and then the others surely wouldn't be far behind. _

_.  
_

* * *

The next day started off with little difference for Emma; breakfast; school, homework; work. Her life was becoming very routine save for holidays. It didn't bother her all that much since routine made it a little easier to protect her secret and helped keep her life organized and orderly. To someone like Rikki this might seem dull and boring; but then again Rikki could be a bit of a wild one at times.

Emma continued to ponder this on her walk to the cafe, and as she approached again a bit of the predictable routine came into sight; empty outdoor tables. It was a bad sign as to the state of business. It puzzled her how business could be so erratic. Beyond that though she knew that trouble was brewing. It was a very nice day out; beautiful in fact and not a single one of the outdoor tables was being used. All the business therefore had to be inside and for that to happen this time of day when it was so nice outside meant that business was down… again.

Even the busier days weren't bringing in the sort of sales she had come to expect from her nearly two years of working there. She worried that sales might drop enough that Wilfred would consider closing up; and she didn't think that she could talk him out of it this time.

She didn't want to see it happen, but it was out of her control and all she could do was do her job like she always did and if it came to it to try and find a way to convince Wilfred not to close the cafe. So until then she saw no point in getting overly worried about it or saying anything to anyone about it (she was convinced that would only stir up trouble for too many other people).

.

Inside sure enough it was quiet; there were only a couple of tables worth of customers and the only person on the clock that she could see was Ash and he was sitting down at a table reading a book (although there was certainly at least one other person on who must have been in the back room at the time). The one upside to the extremely quiet times that she had discovered was that it gave her plenty of time to spend with Ash.

.

"Shouldn't you be working?" She playfully asked as she snuck up behind him; he clearly hadn't seen her come in.

"If one of the girls wants something you can make it for them. I'm in the middle of a really good chapter." Ash said in a perfectly even but smart-ass tone.

"And what if _I_ want something?" Emma was getting flirtatious and began to rub his shoulders lovingly.

"Then make it yourself, you know how."

"But what if it's something I need help with?"

"Like what?"

"Oh… I don't know… a kiss?"

"Can't help you; don't want to lose my place; have Lewis help you."

Emma began to press down hard on Ash's shoulders making him flinch.

"Sorry, sorry."

Once she let up he tilted his head back for a quick kiss then she went in the back to get changed.

.

"Smooth Ash, real smooth." One of the other girls that worked at the cafe commented having come out from the back room just in time to witness the scene that had just played out.

"What?" He asked.

"Play games with you girlfriend when she's trying to be sweet… real smooth."

* * *

Emma's shift turned out to be fairly steady -just enough to keep her on her toes- the kind of shift she enjoyed the most. When her shift was done she still had a few hours before dinner and just couldn't let the rest of a beautiful day go to waste. She had a fair amount of homework still to do but she decided to let it sit and do it after dinner instead of watching TV. With her mind made up and she went down to a secluded section of the beach that next to nobody ever went to. As she arrived she could see Lewis up on some of the rocks a short ways into the water fishing.

.

"Any bites today?" She asked him as she walked past.

"Not a thing."

"You still using that lure of yours?"

"They're just not biting today; it's got nothing to do with my lure."

Not wanting to debate the effectiveness of the lure that he designed and always used when fishing she changed the subject.

"Cleo and Rikki around?" She asked as she stashed her bag behind a large group of rocks up away from the water's edge.

"They're out there somewhere."

She had asked just in case they may not have gone to where her gut told her they would be. She had been certain even before she had gotten down to the beach that if she wanted to find Cleo and Rikki her first place to look should be Mako Island.

.

Mako Island held many secrets including a secret cavern inside the dome of a dormant volcano. Directly beneath the dome's opening was a pool of water and when the light from a full moon shown down directly on to it magic happened. It was there that it had happened; she had found herself in the Moon Pool on Mako Island on a night of a full moon and that was when she became a mermaid.

.

"Thanks Lewis."

"Anytime."

.

With only Lewis around she took off into the water and 10 seconds later she felt the change take place; her legs instantly replaced by a mermaid tail and then she took off at an incredible speed heading for Mako island. When she finally slowed she took a quick survey of her surroundings. She could see nothing below or above the water's surface that posed a threat to her. With the all clear she surfaced for a quick breath of air and to better determine her location.

Not that far away from her she caught sight of a dolphin jumping out of the water. Smiling to herself she took a breath and went back under heading for where she had seen the dolphin. The search for her friends could wait for a little bit since she so enjoyed swimming and playing with the dolphins out in the open waters. Being a mermaid definitely had its perks.

.

When she finally surfaced at the Moon Pool she found Cleo and Rikki -just as she had expected- lying on the ground doing nothing.

.

"What are you two bums doing just laying around here on a beautiful day like this?"

"Relaxing." Rikki replied. "Zane and I were supposed to be on a date but then he decided to let Nate and his mates tag along. It was all I could do not to slug each and every one of them and even harder not to roast them from the inside out. After I got fed up I just walked away and told Zane not to follow."

"And I didn't sleep good last night so I tried to grab a nap after school but with Dad out of the house all day Kimmy decided to do everything in her power to prevent that. When she wasn't looking I snuck out and got out here as fast as I could." Cleo explained in turn.

Emma sympathized with her friends.

"So if you don't mind either join us leave." Rikki instructed.

Emma wasn't going to take either of those options. "It's way too nice out to spend lying around; why don't you come for swim with me."

.

Neither girl budged so Emma took matters into her own hands and splashed water up onto Cleo who shrieked at the sudden and unexpected splash of water that hit her. Across the way Rikki opened her eyes just enough to look across and see Cleo's mermaid tail appear and the daggers that were now coming from Cleo's eyes and being shot at Emma.

Rikki returned to her state of attempted relaxation and sleep only to hear the splashing of water again and a second later felt it coming into contact with her skin. 10 seconds later she too was laying there as a mermaid.

"You're going to have to do better than that Em."

* * *

"Now wasn't that better than just laying around?" Emma asked her companions as they walked up away from the beach after their swim together.

.

It had taken much additional prying and persuading but eventually Emma had convinced her fellow mermaids to go for a swim with her.

.

"I suppose." Rikki was clearly reluctant to acknowledge that the swim had in fact been the better choice.

.

Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Emma's phone.

.

"Hello… One hour; no problem, I'm on my way home already…I'm with them right now, I'll ask them." She turned to her friends, "Mum would like to know if you want to come over for dinner?"

"Sure, I'm in; beats heating up leftovers and listening to Kimmy try and get me to do the same for her."

"Zane's already blown our dinner plans so count me in."

"Mum… It's a yes for both... Ok see you in a little while; love ya, bye."

* * *

.

_Emma's mom was thrilled when she saw us walk into the house. We hadn't realized it at the time but it had been sometime since we had been over with her around. She always loved having us over and always made us feel welcome and at home. She was a steady comforting factor in our lives and on that particular occasion she was the perfect complement to our swim and an all around good day. _

_With the changes, troubles and challenges that would come our way in a few months it would have been nice to have her around. _

.

After dinner Emma socialized with her family and friends a while longer before until the girls left then went up stairs to do her homework. The small changes like having her friends over for dinner were a small and welcomed deviation but overall her life was definitely settling into a routine.


End file.
